Hawaii has announced an executive order to protect those traveling to the state for abortion procedures from legal punishment.
The order also protects medical professionals performing procedures.
Hawaii Governor David Ige signed the order following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade this past summer, Honolulu Civil Beat reported.
The reversal of Roe v. Wade resulted in fourteen states banning the procedure. Another nine states have bans on hold.
“We will not cooperate with any other state that tries to prosecute women who receive an abortion in Hawaii, and we will not cooperate with any other state that tries to sanction medical professionals who provide abortion in Hawaii,” Ige said at a news conference.
The Aloha State has been firm in its stance on abortions. It became the first state in the U.S. to legalize abortions in 1970.
Under state law, the state is prohibited from denying or interfering with a woman’s right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion “that is necessary” to protect the life or health of the female.
“Despite the ruling, I can assure you that women in Hawaii will continue to have access to the healthcare they need, and that includes abortion,” Ige said in a statement. “Hawaii law already protects the right of individuals to make their own deeply personal reproductive health decisions, including the right to seek abortion care. I will do everything in my power to ensure that women retain control over their own reproductive choices.”
Gov. Ige sides with the governors of Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, who have also adopted similar provisions following the ruling by protecting reproductive health services provided in their states.
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